In this article it is trying to make us understand that there is a difference between addiction and mental health and we should not get confused with the two of them. The company Bell Canada spent over $60 million dollars last year in mental health awareness for their Lets Talk Campaign. No one makes a decision to one day wake up and develop ADHD, MS, Parkinson’s, Depression and other illnesses. On the other hand people do have the decision to not start addictions, no one is forced into having that first drink or chemicals that have self-destructing behaviors to them, that is self choice and in your control to do so. The term hijacking the brain is used when the brain is receiving a pleasure from a behavior, the brain is the innocent victim of substances. A mental illness does not give pleasure from a behavior it is a condition not chosen by influences and should not be blamed for. By continuing to lump addictions in with mental illnesses we perpetuate the opinion that there is an element of choice in mental illness, which we have to understand there is not.

Response

In my opinion to the article “Don’t Confuse Mental Health with Addiction” I completely agree with the author “Marvin Ross” that there is a problem we are dealing with and it has to be understood for it to be solved. We are often confusing mental illness and addiction, as individuals we need to understand that people diagnosed with mental illness aren’t given the choice to have or not have it and that it was developed by their brains. We need to have programs in schools at a younger age to have an understanding early on in life what mental illness is and what addiction is not only for us not to be confused by them but for awareness of what they are in general. This will give us the ability to be able to help someone who is in need for it.

Comments

I agree with James, if we continue to confuse mental health and addiction there will be several people who are missed diagnosed, which means they'll also be taking the wrong medication. Giving people the wrong medication won't help treat their disease, it could sometimes make it worse.